Reviews by EliteDigger:

Decided to try one of these after it had been in my cellar for 6 months. A-Pours a deep dark pitch black with no discernible highlights when held up to the light. Poured with a 1/2" dark cocoa colored head which slowly recedes to some spotty foam floating on the top. A light swirling motion produces some sticky lacing along with some hints of viscousness.S-Hints of Molasses, chocolate, coffee, and some dark fruits like fig and prune.T-More of the same... Dark chocolate, stale coffee, molasses, dark overripe fruits, tobacco, and wood. The taste in my mouth disappears fairly quickly, no lingering aftertastes, just a short quick dry chalky chocolate burst.M-Creamy and well carbonated. Good medium-heavy thickness. Slightly slick oily feeling as it goes down, but leaves my tongue tasting dry.D-The taste is good enough to have a couple, but hampered only by it's 10% abv. A very nice sipper on a cold evening. A fine beer from St. Arnolds!

More User Reviews:

Had this on tap at the Gingerman in Austin as a 1/2 pint. I feel lucky to get it on tap as I heard in only lasted about 8 weeks. Pour was jet black (although the bar was fairly dark-maybe a hint of red in there). Small white capped head with good lacing. Smell was roasted coffee and chocolate. The smell matched perfectly and went down easy. This brew filled up your mouth and lingered there before going down very smooth. Just enough hops to keep it interesting on the back end but the smooth dark malt is the highlight. There was a little fruitiness (mostly esther banana) which added a very nice touch. The alcohol was well hidden, but I could begin to feel it creeping up. Sip this beer slowly and enjoy it-though it would be easy to put down a few of these. Bought a 6 pack and can't wait to see what this is like next year!

Pours into my chalice a viscous, inky black with a creamy dark tan head on top. Black as night and enticing so far! Aromas kick off with deep roasted malts and an upfront licorice. Chocolate swirls around with a touch of dark fruit as well. Caramel sweetness as well. Rich and inviting.

First sip brings velvety smooth dark malts across the palate with a mix of bold licorice and chocolate flavors. Slightly vinous dark fruits melding with a caramel sweetness. Mellow coffee and molasses with a bit of dark bread. Super smooth and tasty. Just a hint of alcohol on the finish.

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with a solid medium body. This one is not overly heavy like some imperial stouts can be. Overall, a great depth of flavor and undeniably drinkable. This one is holding up quite nicely and I wish I had a few more. Many thanks to dmeadows for the unexpected opportunity.

12 ounce bottle that pours opaque dark brown with a fizzy brown head. The aroma is sweet chocolate covered raisins with a bit of a twang to it. Bitter chocolate flavors with some raisins and coffee. That funny twang is still there. Medium body. High carbonation. Dry finish. Just sort of okay.

Pours out black with a dark tan head with excellent retention and lacing. Roasty, milk chocolate, coffee, and hints of cherry and smoke. Slightly hoppy and paired with bitter chocolate greet the tongue to begin, leading into a lingering roastiness with a slight alcohol burn. Higher than medium carbonation and medium bodied. Good brew from the folks at St. Arnold. I look forward to seeing how this one ages.

Big thanks to bu11zeye for giving me this bottle. This is a beer that I thought I had missed out on.

The beer pours a dark brown to black color with a tan head. The aroma is heavy on the chocolate and roasted malt, with a little bit of soy sauce. I also get some nice vanilla notes.

The flavor is similar. I get a lot of chocolate and roasted malt. Even though the beer is not barrel aged, I get some vanilla and maple notes in the flavor. All of the flavors compliment each other very nicely. There is also a slight bit of soy sauce in the flavor but it is fairly subtle.

A: Pours solid black with a moderate viscosity. Big, strong head forms and lasts quite a bit. Big bubbles continue to erupt from the middle of the head while tiny tight bubbles stick strong on the edges. Interesting to look at. A nice blanket of lacing throughout.

S: Deeply burnt malts and coffee character. Alcohol is pleasantly detectable. It smells intensely hopped along the lines of a fruity barleywine. A hint of smoke as the head dies a bit.

T/M: Dominance from burnt malts and strong bitter coffee. A nice sweetness from bitter chocolate help with complexity. Hops are hidden a bit by the intense malt character but add more bitterness and an earthy character. Alcohol might be a tad hot for some people and I'm a bit undecided.. I wonder what the ABV is. Full bodied and creamy, leaving a thick coat of cream on my tongue.

D: Very tasty and reasonably quaffable. I have a couple more and would like a few more as I'm betting this would be even better a year or so from now.

A dark purple/brown pour with a good fingers worth of similar purplish brown head. The head fades quickly and leaves some light lacing on the glass. This beer looks like any other dark russian imperial stout but then it moves in a different direction. The smell is fruity. I get mostly a plum dark fruit smell. Not unpleasing but not what I expected from a russian imperial stout. There is also hints of coco and raisins. The taste is very much the same as the smell except there is some smokiness and a fine malt and hop flavor combined with a little coffee flavors. All in all there is a lot going on in this beer and it works very nicely. It coats the mouth well and moves through the flavors nicely. Not my favorite R.I.S. but a nice surprise from St. Arnold. I am going to try and find some more and shelve it because its going to get real good after some aging.

Wow, this is truly a unique RIS.Pours almost black with a touch of dark amber where the light hits the glass. A full, dense tan head tops it and melts slowly leaving a nice sticky map in it's wake.

Aroma is hard to describe....dark fruits like plums and prunes, dark brown sugar, espresso with cream, some dark chocolate and then some wonderfully heavy sweet aroma I can't really identify.

Flavors of very dark chocolate covered fruits abound....some berry such as dark cherry or raspberry, again covered in chocolate. As you swallow it yields to coffee notes becoming slightly bitter as it finishes in your mouth leaving you with the warmth of alcohol and taste of bitter chocolate.

Thanks Geuzedude. This is a very tasty classy RIS. Above average mouthfeel, though not very thick, and I think that was suitable to focus on the instrinsic taste of chocolate and spices. Very drinkable!Coffee secondary, which I appreciated. Complex malt, yet bittersweet throughout. Minimal head on black.A little overcarbonated, perhaps keeping it from a top 100.

Many, many thanks to JDV for sending me such a surprising extra. Your generosity is much appreciated.

Appearance: It pours a jet black color. No light getting through, even around the edges. Very impressive. Head is a dark mocha brown color and was roughly a finger deep. It dissipated very quickly and left a very light coat of lace on the glass.

Smell: It initially smells of rich, chocolate fudge. Very sweet smelling. Alcohol actually comes through pretty strong in the nose. It's a strong beer, but I wasn't anticipating alcohol to be quite as pronounced as it is. Dark fruit aromas (raisin and prune) are notable and add complexity. Roasted malts are present, but are more of a secondary player. Light roasted coffee scent rounds it out.

Taste: Chocolate malts are rich and sweet. They're the primary feature and taste very fine. Roasted malts indeed take a back seat, but are stronger than the nose would lead you to believe. Very flavorful. Alcohol is definitely noticeable, but is masked a little better in this department. Dark fruit flavors are blended well and complement the other elements nicely. Roasted coffee flavor is present and comes on relatively strong toward the end. It's lightly hopped, but just enough give it a bitter, snappy bite. Sweet and slightly bitter finish.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability: It's full bodied and very creamy and smooth. Definitely has a nice silky quality to it. Carbonation is a little low, but very nicely done. Drinkability is very good. I'd probably limit myself to one due to it's strength, but it'd certainly be tempting to delve into another if had more.

This truly is a high quality Imperial Stout. The only flaw of any substance is that alcohol comes through a little too strong one the nose. But, that's really nitpicking it. This is an excellent beer and should definitely be checked out if you can find a bottle. Thanks a lot, Deniz. This was a treat.

This is one of the darkest pouring beers you can get, light barely penetrates the stream of beer as it pours out its thick inky black motor oil with a huge espresso-like foam on top. Lots of thick foam streaks lacing the glass all the way down.

Smells of smokey bitter chocolate (mole?), molasses, raisin, cherry and maybe some alcohol that kinda comes off as an extra fruit flavor thats a little off, like lychee or kiwi.

Taste does not disappoint. Bitter cocoa and molasses mostly with some fruity bitter hops and a tinge of alcohol. I think its the fruitiness from some of the hops that doesnt quite blend with the heavy malts (yet) that creates this watery lychee/bitter kiwi/soapy impression that I get.

Mouthfeel is awesome. Thick and creamy like an ice-cream float. Very nice.

Gonna try to hold some of this until next year, when it will probably be better. Definately a great brew for St Arnolds, a beer Texas can be proud of... and maybe my patriotism has affected this rating a tiny bit.

One day I will have to try an Storm King, Avery Czar or Oak Aged Yeti on draft, but until then, I have to say that this was the best RIS I have ever tasted! It did not have the distinctive "twang" (that I don't care for) that is usually identifiable of St Arnold.

I found this on draft at the Mucky Duck in Houston. It's not on the menu, so you'll have to ask for it.

Head: Medium "dirty" brown. Had the smell of dark chocolate/coffee.

Body: Opaque with many complex flavors that you'd find in the richest desserts. This beer got much better as it sat in the glass and reached about 60-70 degrees.

Like most RIS, take your time, this is the type of beer you would sip on for a half hour or so to really enjoy.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle to a snifter, the liquid is dark dark brown close to black with good carbonation, a swirl of the glass leaves a nice coating on it. The head is dark mocha 1 finger thick and leaves some lace.

The smell is just great to excellent, dark roasted malt of chocolate and coffee aroma and a huge nose of alcohol.

The taste follows, great taste the rich chocolate jumps at you, then settles down for greater complexity in coffee and char flavors.

The mouthfeel is excellent rich smooth and creamy, great big body and very good carbonation.

The drinkability is excellent, on of the best I have had of this style, Many many thanks to Jason Lewis of hooking us up this on.

Pours out a tar black with a chocolate mousse colored head that settles down to a thin rim of bubbles. Leaves some specks of lace. Aroma is full of a grassy, hay-like hop character with some citrus in there. Malts bring on the requisite chocolate and coffee along with a little bit of cherry. Chocolate is not so forceful in the flavor and plays off the grassy hops well. Big roastiness is kicked off right from the very beginning and stays on through to the aftertaste with an almost ashy character. Some berry-like fruitiness is found in the middle and finish, but surprisingly, is not of the typical Saint Arnold ester profile (which works just fine for me). Mouthfeel is definitely the high point of the beer: thick, chewy, and creamy. Drinkability takes a bit of a hit because of how rich this beer is. This is the best thing to come from this brewery and a real surprise for me.

A: The stout is appropriately black. Let's be honest, after x number of stouts, one runs out of colorful adjectives to describe a black beer. I've hit that wall. The head is a tan brown color, offset nicely against the darkness of the beer.

S: The aroma is loaded with rich notes. Milk chocolate, cocoa powder and dark fruits swirl with a noticeable sweetness. A dry nuttiness is also evident.

T: Very rich. The stout is fuller than both of the other stouts that I've enjoyed over the past two days (look 'em up). The sweetness is resounding, layering a smoothness over the roasted grains. The dark flavors are still present, dark and roasted, but they are tempered with many levels of sweetness. Cocoa powder and milk chocolate lead the way, followed by licorice and coffee. A combination of cinnamon and vanilla adds a spicy sweetness that is rather fleeting. Lactic sweetness lingers long after a sip is gone.

M: The ale is remarkably rich, sweet and deep. There is no harshness in this beer, even with the breadth of dark malts.

D: This doesn't feel like 10%. A warming stout that has a sweet profile.